Siege of Bracciano (1493)

The Siege of Bracciano (1493) occurred when the Papal Army unsuccessfully laid siege to the Orsini fortress of Bracciano in Lazio. The Papal forces, commanded by Captain-General Juan Borgia and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, launched a failed assault on the castle before they were driven off with heavy losses.

Background
In 1493, Pope Alexander VI began to crack down on the conspirators against his papacy. He seized the archdiocese of Ostia from the traitorous Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, who fled to France for help. Pope Alexander later discovered that the House of Orsini had hired thugs to maim his mistress, Giulia Farnese, who was the wife of Orsino Orsini Migliorati, the nephew of Prefect of Rome Virginio Orsini. After this was discovered, Captain-General Juan Borgia the Younger relieved Virginio from his position as Prefect of Rome, and the Orsini left Rome for their castle at Bracciano. Pope Alexander ordered for the Papal Army to besiege Bracciano, and he oversaw the preparation of siege works on the beach below the castle. The Pope walked a thin line, as France had the potential to intervene on the side of its Orsini allies.

Siege
Juan Borgia was given command of the siege, with Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro serving as his second-in-command. Borgia proposed a direct assault on the fortress, similar to what he had done at Ostia; Montefeltro unsuccesfully tried to warn him that Virginio Orsini knew of Borgia's tactics by now. Borgia also planned to attack the unprotected flank of the Orsini as they marched down a downhill curve to assault the besiegers, ignoring Montefeltro's advice to remain on the defensive. The assault failed, and Montefeltro was captured; the Papal forces lost two celeres and almost all of their horsemen. A further embarrassment occurred when Orsini sent Juan Borgia a donkey with a sign around its neck saying "I am the Prefect of Rome" (referring to Borgia) and a letter placed in its rectum that read "Virginio Orsini may put whatever he desires up my asshole." The Duke of Urbino was held by Orsini for a ransom of 50,000 ducats,

Aftermath
The siege was a disaster, as the Orsini remained at large. The Pope told Juan that he had failed him as a general and as a son, and he was forced to call Florence and Venice to his aid, while fortifying the walls around Rome, especially the Apostolic Palace. A moat was dug around the Castel Sant'Angelo as well. The Papacy's relations with Cardinal Alessandro Farnese were also harmed after the Pope appointed his son Cesare Borgia Governor of Orvieto, Alessandro Farnese's archdiocese. Now, the Pope had to worry about either France or the Orsini assaulting Rome.